Weight change desire and dietary habits among young females and males in Tromsø and Balsfjord: The Fit Future 2 Study

Abstract

It is not unusual for adolescents and young adults to have a desire to change their weight – either a desire to gain weight or reduce weight. Young men, on a general basis, want to increase their weight, while young women often want to decrease their weight. It is of concern that a larger number of both men and women with healthy weight wish to change their weight. In this thesis the aim was to investigate if and how different desires for weight change are associated with dietary habits of young adults (18-22 years old). Furthermore, the aim was to investigate whether the association between weight change desires and dietary habits differ according to sex and categories of BMI. Dietary habits differed according to sex, with females indicating healthier dietary habits, compared to males. Dietary habits also differed according to weight change desires, and participants who had a desire for weight change indicated to taking dietary measures that were beneficial for their weight change desire. The present thesis did not produce any results that were of major concern, i.e., that a desire for weight change impacts the dietary habits in a negative way, among emerging adults in Northern Norway. There are certain limitations in the present study, regarding how data on dietary habits and weight change desires were reported, as well as the size of the population, which in turn could explain why the thesis did not result in any major findings.